Mix N Mac, Middletown

Best place to eat on the cheap in 2012: Mix N Mac, Middletown

By Melissa Esposito

Thanks to Mix N Mac in Middletown, mac ’n cheese now comes with more fixings than your average pizza parlor offers: The tally’s at just over 20. Guests have the option to mix it up and create their own meal or order from various premade dishes, all baked to perfection. These range from the usual suspects — veggie, five-cheese blends, and the like — to more unique flavors: cheesesteak mac, shrimp scampi, Buffalo chicken, even a cheeseburger blend with ground beef, tomato, and pickle. (Scampi, who would’ve thought?) Alone, these meals are enough to stuff, but you can’t leave without trying the mac and cheese balls appetizers ($5-$6): gooey cheese, soft macaroni, and — oh yeah — they’re fried.